London Family Holiday
If you are considering a London family holiday, it is one of those exceptional cities that can be defined as globally cosmopolitan;a place where history is treasured and coexists with cutting edge design and technology. There is so much to do and almost every corner has something to offer as an experience. The historic but technologically advanced public transport network makes absorbing the sights, sounds and tastes easy.
London at twilight. London eye, County Hall, Westminster Bridge, Big Ben and Houses of Parliament.
The challenge really is how much can you fit into a weekend for a London family holiday. Our answer to that is to recommend doing multiple weekends over a period of time, savoring fresh experiences each time.
We also hope you have a money tree, since as you’ll see below London is expensive ;-). Don’t worry if that isn’t the case, you can still get to see a lot for free.
Buckingham Palace, London
Since London is such a large city, we’ve broken things down to things to do into this table that lets you sort by a variety of criteria.
Things to Do with the Family in London
London Family Attractions
London Family Attractions
| | | | |
Location | Name of Destination | Type of Destination | Comments | Entry Fee |
Central London | Buckingham Palace | | London residence of HM Queen Elizabeth II, a fascinating place that’s a must visit atleast once | Family ticket £94.80 (2 adults, 3 under 17s) |
Central London | Houses of Parliament | | The seat of power of the British government and a heritage building | Adults - £25, Children (5-15) - £11 |
Central London | Tower of London | | A medieval castle and home of the Crown Jewels | Family ticket online £57.40(2 adults & 3 children of 5-15) |
Central London | St Paul’s Cathedral | | Historic church that is Mother church of Diocese of London | Family ticket £44 (2 adults & 2 children) |
Central London | Westminster Abbey | | Gothic church that is Mother church of the Catholic church in London | Family tickets £45 (2 adults & 2 children) |
Central London | London Eye* | | For a bird eye’s view of London | Online saver prices - Adults (16+) - £27.45
Children (4-16) - £22 |
Central London | Madam Tussaud’s* | | Wax works that will amaze you | Online saver prices - Adults (16+) - £23.80 Children (4-16) - £20.65 |
Central London | Sea Life* | | Aquarium that will entertain the whole family | Online saver prices - Adults (16+) - £19.50 Children (3-16) - £14.5 |
Central London | Shrek’s Adventure London* | | For Shrek fans, a captivating destination | Online saver prices - Adults (16+) - £18.95 Children (3-16) - £15.50 |
Central London | London’s Dungeons* | | For scares & thrills | Online saver prices - Adults (16+) - £19.95 Children (4-16) - £18.50 |
Central London | Hyde Park | | One of the Royal Parks & London’s largest park and | Free to visit |
Central London | Covent Garden | | A London district with shopping, theatre, restaurants. Enjoy street entertainers for free | Free to visit |
Central London | Piccadilly Circus | | Important historic place in London with loads of shopping, theatres & restaurants | Free to visit |
Central London | Horse Guard’s Parade | | Watch changing of the guard | Free to visit |
Central London | Harry Potter’s platform 9 1/2 | | Push a trolley in Harry Potter’s magical world at the wall marked Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross. | Free to visit |
Central London | British Museum | | One of the world’s most popular museums | Free to visit |
Central London | Victoria & Albert Museum | | Museum of design & art | Free to visit |
Central London | Natural History Museum | | Museum to see dinosaurs and other natural history | Free to visit |
Central London | Tate Britain | | Historic Paintings | Free to visit |
Central London | National Portrait Gallery | | Exquisite Paintings | Free to visit |
Central London | Tate Modern | | Modern Art Perfect for children to experiment with shape, form and composition | Free to visit |
Central London | Science Museum | | Trace the history of the rocket & others | Free to visit |
Central London | Shard | | Highest building in Europe, see London from the sky | Adults £25.95, children (4-15) -£19.95 |
Central London | Big Ben | | Iconic timekeeper | Free to visit Free to see visit (outside only) |
Central London | Tower Bridge | | Victorian bridge | Free to visit |
South East London | O2 Arena | | Destination for concerts & restaurants as well as a climb the arena | Free to visit Free to visit, climb costs £35 |
South East London | Greenwich Park | | Another Royal Park | Free to visit |
South East London | London Planetarium | | Planetarium & observatory are within the Greenwich park | Tickets for Planetarium & Observatory Family ticket (2 adults & 2 children) £27.50 |
South East London | Cutty Sark | | World’s sole surviving tea clipper | Family tickets (2 adults & 2 children) £35 |
South East London | National Maritime Museum | | All things to do with ships & sea travel | Free to visit |
Central London | Soho | | Plenty of shopping & restaurants | Free to visit |
Central London | China Town | | Try the Dimsum when you are in this part of town | Free to visit |
Central London | Brick Lane | | A melting pot of cultures & cuisines | Free to visit |
Central London | ZSL London Zoo | | An iconic zoo | Adults £26.70 Children £19.40 |
West London | Kew Garden | | Royal Botanic Gardens | Family tickets (2 adults & 2 kids) - £37.50 |
Central London | Trafalgar Square | | Scenic public square | Free to visit |
| Historic, historic importance | | Museums |
| Tourist attraction | | Culture |
| Children Attraction | | Science |
| Wildlife and Nature | | Zoo |
* it’s worth buying a 4 attraction tickets for these which are much cheaper
London Musicals
London is renowned for its Musicals and Theatre. The top musicals for all the family includes
Lion King
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Wicked
The Railway Children
Matilda
Savour Cuisines
Savour Cuisines in London
Exposing children to a variety of food is one of the ways to promote good eating habits. Here are some places to go to try out food
Soho
Edgware Road
Brick Lane
Covent Garden
Kings Cross
Experiences
Experiences
Emirates Cable Car over London - Get a bird's eye view over London with this cable car ride
River Cruises on the Thames - Enjoy a trip on the river and of gazing at the iconic buildings on the banks.
London is the hub for transportation in the UK and getting to London is easy whether you come by car, bus/coach, train or air.
Get there by Car
By Car
Remember the congestion charges apply from 7am-6pm within Central London that costs £11.50. You’ll also find parking prices are quite steep for a whole day, so we’d recommend you stick to public transport within the city.
Get there by Bus
By Bus
The coach station near London Victoria has coaches coming in from all parts of the UK
Get there by Train
By Train
London is served a number of hub stations with trains from all over the UK coming in. These include – London Waterloo, London Victoria, Kings Cross/St Pancras, London Euston, Paddington, London Liverpool Street.
Get there by Air
By Air
London is served by 5 airports - Heathrow, Gatwick, City, Stansted and Luton. All of them are well connected into Central London making budget air travel an attractive option.
A large city like London has hundreds of options for places to stay. If you choose to stay outside Central London in what's called Greater London, your options multiply several fold.
The convenient public transport system makes it easy to stay 15 minutes away from Central London for a quieter and economical option.
But if you want to experience the bustle of the city, you can choose Central London locations.
Need more options for accommodation in London? Click here
| Self Catering - Homestays & Serviced Apartments |
If you live in the UK, then you can always come back another time for a visit and so keeping that in mind, we’d recommend doing a handful of things in one particular part of London each day rather than trying to cram it all in.
If you’ve got a tight budget, consider one of the budget options for accommodation since you won’t be spending much time in the place. Why not then consider the free things to do as well as one special thing whether it’s a meal out or an attraction or experience?
“Every time I visit, I discover new things in London“
